


those summer nights

by lafemmestars



Category: Oxenfree, We Know the Devil (Visual Novel)
Genre: Abuse not written but there is mention of it, Angst, Canon Trans Character, Devil Stuff, F/F, I promise it's happy at the end, Multi, Oxenfree Spoilers, Past Abuse, Possession, Yellow Ending, yellow ending spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-04-05 03:30:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14035236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lafemmestars/pseuds/lafemmestars
Summary: Read the tags for warnings!(currently I am fixing the story up, adding some things, fixing errors I didn't catch, all that jazz.)I wanted to write a crossover fanfic and uh this happened.Essentially, Alex ends up going to the summer scouts camp and meets Venus, whom is doe-eyed and very shy. After their friendship going on for two years, Alex invites her to go to Edwards Island for a little party, which absolutely would go well! ...... Right?





	1. don't worry

Although the fire was blazing, the cold lingered. It was like a spirit passing by and wafting around. Well, thats how Venus felt as her arms prickled from the breeze. She rubbed her arms, staring at the bright flames that licked the air. She found it mesmerizing how it danced in the night and how it managed to illuminate so much of the surroundings of the campfire.

She looked to the right of herself, seeing Jupiter holding onto Neptune’s hand, and felt a pang of sadness, or something of the sort in her chest. She didn’t mind their relationship, but it seemed as though they had pushed her out. They decided to converse between themselves more often, snickering and bickering about many things she did not know and never would know.

_But you should be happy for them. They’e you're friends, and they’re quite happy! Doesn’t that mean you should also be happy?_

She bit her lip, turning away and continued to try retaining warmth. She wanted to be with them, laughing and smiling. Sure, she sat next to them and physically was with them, but wasn’t emotionally with them. 

The cold was unbearable. Just like being alone. Just like being the Devil. 

Suddenly, the frigid air stopped pelting her arms, only really hitting her face. She looked to the side of herself slightly, noticing a red jacket clinging to her shoulders. She looked up, watching a girl who had started to sit down by her. She grinned to her, pushing her brown bangs out of her face and crossing her legs. 

“You seemed like you were pretty freezing, hope you don’t mind I just threw my jacket on you.” She said happily as she looked at Venus, glancing at the Bonfire Captain out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to ignore them as they spoke.

“O-oh thank you! I really appreciate it!” She stuttered out, cheeks heating up slightly.

“No problem, just figured it’d be best for you to not die of like frostbite. I’m not really cold right now anyways… My name is Alex, its nice to meet you.” She said as she picked at the green grass.

"I'm Venus."

"I know. Your name is really cool! I've heard the Bonfire Captain talk to you and your group members a lot. What do you three do that gets you into so much trouble?" She asked curiously, smiling to her cooly. 

The blonde laughed nervously, shrugging and shaking her head. "No clue. I guess he just kinda doesn't like us..." She whispered softly, glancing back at the Bonfire Captain. He seemed very intimidating with his dark eyes and his slightly creepy smile. She shuddered, looking back to Alex, sort of mesmerized by her. Sure, Jupiter was mesmerizing with her happy laugh, and Neptune with her small smirks, dark eyes lighting up with happiness, but neither were as mesmerizing as Alex. There was just something about her. It was strange.

"Hey, wanna sneak over by the lake and hang out?" She offered, looking to the captain as if trying to formulate the perfect plan to sneak away and not be noticed. Something Venus wasn't sure would be worth getting in trouble... But at the same time she never really did too much for herself.

_Why not just be a little selfish?_

She finally gave a nod to Alex, who took her hand excitedly, slowly pulling her along with her. "Hey, my brother said to make the best of the Summer Scouts, y'know?" 

"Uh, I guess?" She said with a hushed tone, walking by Alex and holding onto her hand to keep from getting separated from her. 

"Well, even if that seems a little confusing I'm sure you get at least part of it." She grinned as she led her to the lake. It glimmered in the moonlight, sparkling brilliantly on the dark waters, giving off a hypnotic glow. Usually she hated the lake, but it just looked so nice then. 

For the rest of the time they conversed, laughing by the water and coming up with small jokes about their groups and the Bonfire Captain. Alex had huddled up close by Venus, who had pulled her jacket completely on and slightly leaned on the other as though they were close friends.

For once, Venus didn't worry about what Jupiter and Neptune were doing, she knew they still sat by the flickering fire, most likely making snarky remarks together about the Bonfire Captain as he strummed his out-of-tune guitar and sang hymnals, but she didn't mind. Maybe they hadn't realized, or cared, that she left. 

She already felt like she was having the most fun with her new friend.

Alex had felt quite content sitting there, giggling at a joke Venus had told her. It made being at the camp so much better. Her group was boring, she hated the ideals being pushed upon her, and she at first much rather had been back at home with her brother. But then she saw Venus, she seemed lonely, just like her, in her group. 

There was something about the caring look in her blue eyes that had drew Alex closer, the same look her brother had looked at others, and immediately she wanted to talk to the girl. 

Almost like she felt a odd connection... Well, the camp itself was pretty odd, but that wasn't the point. 

"I'm glad we met." Alex said suddenly, laying back on the grass. For a moment, there was silence, then Venus smiled to her. "Me too."


	2. quiet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's mentions of being abused in this chapter so uhhh read with caution.

A year had went by.

Alex and Venus were lounging in a small treehouse in the backyard, the one quiet place they could have some privacy to talk, away from Alex's parents. 

Alex poked her head out the window, surveying the verdant backyard that seemed to be oh-so perfect. She couldn't see her parents outside sitting on their lawn chairs, so she took a good guess they were inside. 

Venus had sat as close to the wall as possible, toying with a small radio and trying to re-wire it. She glanced up upon noticing Alex moving to the window, then put the radio down. 

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, innocence in her tone. The other slowly settled back against the wall by her, then shrugged.

"Just trying to see if my dad was outside..." She rubbed her wrist, no fear in her eyes. No, Alex didn't fear him. More or less, she was very vexed by him. As she rubbed her wrist almost absently, Venus gave her a worried glance. "He's not, so we're fine." She reassured, eyes darting to the back door when she heard the loud creaky noise of it opening.

It was just Micheal. She relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. The tall teen had walked out, holding a cigarette between his fingers. He put it out against one chair, then looked up at the treehouse and waved to the two hiding inside.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to them, "He's gone! You can come out now." 

Alex nodded, taking Venus's hand and starting to climb down. Venus held on as she climbed down with her, shakily planting both feet on the grass and waving to Michael. "Hey." Alex had jumped off the last step, walking to her brother and giving him a hug. He smiled and hugged her, then motioned for Venus to come over. "Hey, you're family too, you're like a sister that's really quiet. A sister I've never had, that's for sure." He said as she walked over and tried her best to hug them both.

"Thanks?"

Alex laughed softly at Venus's confusion to Michael's comment, then stood on her tiptoes to ruffled his hair. 

"Hey, quiet is nice sometimes. Well... in some cases at least."

The three made their way inside, Venus holding Alex's hand timidly and walking upstairs to her room.

Alex seemed to be a little uneasy, still glancing around and protectively holding Venus's hand. Once in her room, she closed the door, then settled down on her bed, pulling her jacket on. Venus looked around at the room she had been in many times, almost countless. 

She wasn't really away from Alex much, besides on school days, but other than that Alex would invite Venus over. (But they never stayed at Venus's house, the one time they did her father, who's a pastor, overheard Alex say 'fuck'. Funny, but didn't go too well. After having to do a confessional, Alex didn't want to hang around Venus's parents much, and she understood perfectly.)

She picked up a picture off of the mirror, inspecting it and sitting by Alex. The other looked over and smiled solemnly. "Ah, that's when Michael took me and Clarissa to the beach."

She looked closely at the girl with short red hair, who seemed like she was having fun, hugging Alex as if they knew each other for a while. She assumed Michael took the picture. She looked back to Alex and pointed at Clarissa. "Who's Clarissa?"

"Michael's girlfriend. You haven't met her yet, she's okay. She's busy with some job and usually Michael goes to visit her, which is why you've never seen her around." 

"I never noticed this picture." Venus said simply and she handed it back to Alex, tilting her head.

Alex smiled and replied with a small laugh. "Hmmm I wonder why, maybe you should guess." She said, leaning on her shoulder. "I'm kidding, Michael recently got the picture developed." 

Venus nodded and leaned on her, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Does Michael know?" 

"Yeah. He stopped him from hitting me again." She muttered spitefully, then turned to face her. 

"Don't worry though, I'll be fine. It doesn't hurt too much." She spoke as she showed her arm to the blonde, pointing at a darkened, angry bruise that was way too purple to be 'ok'.

"I'm still worried about it..."

"... I know. But you know I can hold my own."

They got quiet, Venus kept her head down as she gently caressed the bruise, trying to make it less sore if she could. She could see pain cross Alex's face for a moment and she quickly let go, not wanting to accidentally cause her anymore pain. 

After a short while, Alex had laid back in her bed, pulling a blanket over herself and curling up. "I'm a little tired. I think I'll take a nap."

"Okay. Do you want me to go?" Venus asked softly, staring to stand up and grab her bag.

"No. Please stay..." Alex requested, gently grabbing her wrist and looking at her. 

She put her bag back down and laid next to her, curling up. "Okay, just let me know if you want me to go."

"No.... no not today. I'd much rather have you stay, just as long as you can." 

"I can stay tonight." She said as she curled up, grabbing another blanket for herself and wrapping herself it in. It wasn't too long before both fell asleep peacefully. 

For a few minutes at least. 

Venus's phone started to ring, and woke up suddenly out of her short nap. She groaned and looked at her phone, seeing at text from her dad. She ignored it, turning the ringer off and placing it back in her bag. She curled back up, then blushed when she felt Alex's arm wrap around her and pulling her close. Alex sleepily smiled to her, then buried her face back into her pillow. 

_Did she....._

_No, probably not. They were just... just friends? ... right?...._


	3. strange

School was pretty boring.

Venus found herself in Science, trying to be the responsible one as Neptune tried to grab two beakers and mix the liquids it contained.

"C'mon I just wanna see what happens-"

"No, you know what happens when you mix these! I'm sorry but I don't want to cause an explosion! I promised Alex-" Jupiter perked up, giggling softly. 

"Your _girlfriend?_ " She teased, dragging the i and the r out.

Venus's face turned completely red and she shook her head quickly, placing the beakers down carefully. "She's my friend!" Neptune snickered and reached for a beaker to sneak it away, but Jupiter quickly grabbed the other and shook her head. 

"You're always with her after school-"

"So?"

"Literally you've been on family trips with her many times-"

"Doesn't mean anything!"

"And your face got all red-"

"Shhhhhh!" Venus covered her face and whined, shaking her head more. "We're just friends!"

"Friends my ass!" Neptune shot back as the bell rung. She grabbed her bag and waited for the other two. Jupiter did the same while Venus checked her phone, then she grabbed her own bag and followed Jupiter and Neptune outside. They began to walk in the heat, Neptune grumbling about the sun being too bright. It seemed like a normal day.

"Are we still going to the gazebo by the deserted church tonight?" Jupiter asked as she looked to Neptune for an answer, who nodded. 

"Of course! I will be bringing the good stuff. Hey Venus, are your friends coming along?" 

"Mmhm. Michael offered to bring some drinks." 

Neptune snickered and shook her head. "I thought her brother would be more protective. He looks like it. Still, don't know if I want to let him join in our little party, yknow? Just so long as he doesn't act like a little babysitter."

Venus shook her head and smiled. "He's cool. Don't worry." 

"Are you defending him cause he's your future brother-in-law?" Neptune teased as she poked Venus's arm.

"N-no! I've told you! I'm only Alex's friend!" 

Finally, Venus had made it to her house and she rushed inside, face completely flush. She put her bag down and sighed. Her house was silent, not a complete surprise. She knew her mother was at work, but as for her father? She was sure he was at work too. Did he have work today? She couldn't remember. She swore he had took the day off... 

She tried to not think too much about it. 

It was strangely calm inside with there being less noise in the house. She considered her house to be what most people in the earlier days would call 'The American Dream'. Even her family seemed to be the earliest depiction of it...

Somewhat....

 _Well not everything was what it seemed, like in the 1950s._ Venus thought to herself while she opened the fridge and took out a water bottle.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Venus sat on the floor on the gazebo, swirling her wine in her cup and watching it. She had decided on a white knit off the shoulder sweater with some regular blue jeans and black shoes. 

Taking a sip of her drink, she glanced over to Jupiter, who was eating a sandwich and leaning against the railings, probably enjoying the cool summer night.

Neptune was sitting near by Venus, doing shots and texting someone, probably her friend that she wanted over. She scooted over to Venus, ruffling her hair with a smirk. "Sooo where's your girl?" 

"She's not my girl. She's my friend." Venus corrected softly, taking a sip of her drink. 

Almost as if on cue, Venus heard a familiar laugh and quickly turned her head. She saw Alex, Michael, and Michael's girlfriend Clarissa, who she hadn't formally met yet. Once Alex has spotted Venus, she ran over happily and sat by her. 

"There you are! We kinda got lost on the way here. Clarissa gave Michael the wrong directions." She explained as she straightened out her shirt and smiled.

Clarissa didn't respond to that, instead stayed close by Michael. Michael waved to Neptune and Jupiter, then gave Venus a bear hug. "But it's my fault mainly because I didn't really understand the directions. So how are you doing? Are there any guys talking to you I gotta beat up?" He playfully added as he messed up her hair, causing her to smile and giggle. 

"If there's a boy messing with her I'd be the one kicking butt, thank you very much!" Alex chimed in as she held back a laugh. 

Neptune scooted closer, a amused smirk on her face. She put her phone and cleared her throat. "So you're Alex? The Alex? The Alex that Venus always t-oof!" Jupiter softly elbowed Neptune, making her wheeze. Jupiter smiled innocently and leaned forward. "We've heard a lot of good things about you!" 

Alex smiled as she wrapped her arm around Venus affectionately, shaking her head. "I'd say the same about you guys but uh... I've heard many stories of you both."

"You've heard right if Venus has told you I'm a bitch." Neptune said as she leaned against Jupiter, holding her side. 

"Well she actually doesn't say you're a bitch-"

"Shit, Venus what the hell? You're sullying my name!" She said dramatically, falling back into Jupiter's lap. Venus shrugged and stayed by Alex, cuddling up to her slightly.

"So you're Venus?" 

She turned to look at Clarissa, who had a surprisingly calm voice. She had glanced over to Venus, cheek resting on her hand. Venus nodded awkwardly and unconsciously held Alex's hand. "That's me. Alex said you're Michael's girlfriend?"

"Yes, I am." She pulled a cigarette out, nodding and offering one to Michael. Venus knew, even without looking at Alex, that Alex seemed tense as she spoke. It was too hard for her to just ignore it. 

"Well it's nice to finally meet you I guess."

The rest of the night as everyone drank and chattered Venus couldn't shake the feeling of continuous hostility from Clarissa and tenseness from Alex. Maybe it was all in her head, but something did not sit right with her.


	4. mistakes

Going to parties always were fun, Alex liked being able to relax and talk to others, but she felt like something was missing as she got herself another beer.

Her hand felt numb from the cold glass as she opened it and started to drink the sour liquid. Clarissa sauntered over to her, sitting down and looking at her with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"So, is that little blond your girlfriend?" She asked as she sipped her own beer.

Alex shook her head and looked around for Michael. He was talking to some of his friends, having a good time. She realized she lost Ren somewhere, then she noticed him, laughing and talking with Nona, a girl he pined after, but she didn't seem too interested in him.

"... why do you want to know?"

"Curious." She said simply as she eyed Alex, then scooted close to her. "You guys seemed to be a thing."

"No, I'm just really close to her." She knew she loved Venus, she couldn't help it but.... Why would Venus love her? She just was uncertain if she wanted to admit it. She shook her head and put the bottle nearby herself. 

"Ah. Gotcha." Clarissa mumbled. 

There was an awkward silence even though music filled the room. Normally she never spoke to Clarissa, she didn't really think they had much in common. The only thing they had in common was that they both cared for Michael.

_Did Clarissa care for him?_

She knew a lot about Clarissa. She knew Michael wanted to elope with her. She also knew she never had a very good feeling about her.

But still, she gave her blessing for Michael to marry Clarissa. She just hoped she would be good to him. Alex snuck a look at her hands, no ring. She guessed that he hadn't proposed the idea yet.

Now that Clarissa brought Venus up, Alex couldn't pull her mind away from her. Her soft blonde hair that made her look angelic, the slight hint of freckles along her nose, cheeks, and forehead, and her bright blue eyes that Alex found herself getting lost in too many times. Once was enough, perfectly fine because they were very close, but it wasn't just once Alex found herself staring at her. 

But Venus never really noticed. 

Neither did Alex notice as Clarissa got closer to her. 

"So no interest in her at all?" She leaned close to her snapping Alex immediately out of her thoughts. She frowned and hesitantly shook her head and looked away. 

"No?"

Clarissa acknowledged her, then took her hand. It was cold. She pressed her lips against hers suddenly, tasting the alcohol on her lips. She didn't pull away.

_What about Michael? Wouldn't he be heartbroken seeing his sister make out with the girl he loved?_

_....What about Venus, finding out what she did and becoming distant to her because of it?_

Alex quickly shoved Clarissa away, wiping her lips and stepping back from her. "What the hell Clarissa?" She hissed as she looked at her with narrowed eyes. The red head simply tilted her head innocently and shrugged. 

"What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong! Ugh!" She groaned, which made her slightly angry. 

"You kissed me back."

She stayed quiet.

"Uh huh. That's what I thought."

Alex grabbed her beer bottle and walked away from the red-head and into the crowd. She could feel the sweat dripping off her skin and the slight burning feeling in her cheeks. Someone with a strong grip put their hand on her shoulder and she dropped the bottle out of surprise, which shattered against the floor and left a sharp smell lingering in the air. The sound of shattering glass made her more anxious. She spun around quickly with wide eyes, then noticed it was just Michael. He had a smile on his lips and he seemed oblivious to what had happened in the kitchen.

"Are you good? You look like you just saw a ghost." He asked patiently, making her feel guiltier by the minute.

"I'm... I'm fine..." She whispered, then looked back up at him. 

"Hey, are you sad I'll be leaving soon?"

".... Yeah..."

He sadly nodded, hugging her tightly and sighing. "Well, don't worry, this week is all for you sis! Tomorrow I'll teach you to swim, and it'll be the most fun you'll ever have!" He promised enthusiastically. Alex slowly nodded, then forced a smile. 

"Yeah. I'm excited for it..." 

She didn't tell him what had happened.


	5. loss

Sometimes it got hard to deal with everything, that's what Alex and Venus learned together. It should have been something easy to learn over, like procrastinating on a group project. Something as simple and as easy as that. Sure, it'd seem hard at the time being, but then in the future there'd be laughing and joking about that time.

This wasn't one of those times.

Alex paced around her room, eyeing a black dress on her door. 

_If you don't look at it, it's not real... It's.... It's not real...._

She continued to tell herself that over and over again, nervously grasping her arms and holding back tears. Giving a good glance at the dreary dress, she felt her eyes get watery and sniffled slightly. She changed quietly, then pulled the red jacket over the dress. She looked at herself in the mirror, staring at the girl who stared back. A girl with bright teal hair, tawny skin, and puffy green eyes who stood in a horribly black dress that went to her knees with a pair of flats to match and a red jacket that was slightly too big for her. The jacket that had belonged to Michael. 

She didn't think too much of the impending importance of it. The jacket that had been worn many times by him until one day during a football game. That day Alex was cold and Michael had let her take his jacket for the night, but he never really asked to get it back. Instead he made little remarks about how he should ask for it back, but only in a joking way.

The jacket meant everything to Alex now.

She forced herself to hold back tears, Michael wouldn't want her to cry. He'd tell her it'd be okay.

_But would it be okay without him there telling her it was going to be all fine as he gave her a tight embrace?_

She forced herself to not look at herself any longer as she felt that was why she was on the brink of breaking down into sobs and curling up on the floor. 

She slowly walked out of her room and into the living room. Venus and her parents sat on the couch, they almost looked like the perfect family.

Venus's father, Joseph, was wearing a white button-up shirt and black suit pants with a pair of black Oxford shoes. Her mother, Janine, wore a simple long black dress with a small heeled shoe. Venus wore a dress similar to Alex's and flats too. She clutched some flowers in her hands, lilies to be exact. Upon hearing Alex, she turned to look at her, then quickly stood and walked to her. 

"H-hey..." She looked like she too had been crying. Alex didn't blame her. She would have started crying even more if she had not restrained herself. She stepped toward Venus slowly, then embraced her tightly. She did the same, rubbing Alex's back and trying to be strong to comfort her.

She knew Alex was holding her emotions back and she really wanted to tell her she could tell her how she truly felt, but didn't want to make it awkward. Venus cautiously looked for Alex's father, then continued to comfort her as best as she could.

Knowing that anything she'd say wouldn't help make the situation any better, she gently handed the lilies to her.

Alex faintly smiled, holding the small arrangement. She held them in one hand, then took Venus's hand. "Come on, I need to talk to you." She said gently. 

"Oh ok." 

They walked back upstairs to the bathroom, Venus taking a seat on the cool tile. Alex closed the door, locking it, then sat by her, looking at the flowers and trying to not cry. "I miss him... I... Dad hit me again.... Then I hit him back and he got really mad and I haven't.... I haven't seen him at all today..." Her voice was quiet as she spoke. Venus's eyes widened and she immediately looked worried. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"No. No, I don't want you getting hurt..." 

"You're always welcome to come stay with me if you don't feel safe."

".... can I stay over tonight?"

Venus nodded and embraced her, sighing and looking at the tile. "I really want everything to be better for you. I'd give anything for it." 

Alex nodded slowly and leaned on Venus, starting to tear up slightly. 

"It's not fair... He didn't have to die... I-it's..." She suddenly broke down into sobs, surprising the blonde. She gave her another hug, tearing up herself.

"I-I know Alex... I'm really sorry..."

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she completely let herself go, clutching Venus and sobbing into her dress. She didn't mind and continued to comfort her, rubbing her back and letting her cry.

It took a while for Alex to regain herself, and once she did she didn't want to go to the funeral. Slowly, Venus coaxed her out quietly, helping her stumble slightly to the car since her legs had slightly fallen asleep. Both had red marks from having their legs on one spot of the tile for two long, but both were too exhausted to care. 

~~~~~~~~

It seemed all too easy, but hard at the same time. 

Alex felt like the whole service went to fast, she couldn't bring herself to go up to the thing she had dreaded seeing and saying goodbye, so Venus had went with her. Alex could see tears start to form in Venus's blue eyes, which made them look so much sadder than they usually seemed. 

Sure, she wasn't related to Michael, but because she spent so much time with him and bonded with him because Alex cared for him so much, he felt like a brother to her.

It was quite unimaginable still, Alex's pain. She clutched Venus's hand tightly as she pushed her own tears back. Or maybe she just didn't have any tears left. She did feel woozy in addition...

The blonde let her take her time, but she couldn't look at the sight in front of her. It was too emotional for her to also handle. She instead kept her eyes on some stained glass

Alex turned away from the coffin, pulling Venus with her gently. They walked to the front pew, sitting together and both tried to stay calm and hold their tears back. 

There was so much anger, tears, sadness, and shame Alex had felt, a mixture of her emotions. She knew people were staring at her.

She knew why.

And she also knew that they shouldn't be. But they wouldn't realize it. The only person she knew that probably knew that Alex was being truthful had sat next to her, sniffling and trying to also comfort her. 

If that's how it'd be for the rest of her life, she felt like she was fine with it.

"Venus?" She whispered softly, turning to her closest confidant, next to Ren of course.

"Mmhm?" Venus looked quite innocent with her blue doe-eyes and almost an angel-like look to her. Alex slowly took her hand again and looked at the stained glass the blond had stared at earlier.

".... I really appreciate everything you do for me. I care so much for you, and I think you're one of the only people to majorly cares for my best interest. Ren cares, but sometimes he gets tripped up in his own wants and needs, I get that of course. But know that I really appreciate it." Venus and Michael were the only two who had always wanted her opinion, always kept in mind what Alex had wanted, and both helped her through a lot. She really wanted to put into words how much she cared that she cared...

Venus smiled warmly, and suddenly Alex felt her heart speed up. 

It became hard to ignore.

She turned away, which surprised Venus. _Did she do something wrong?_ Venus didn't ask.

The blond focused back on the funeral, watching others go up to pay their respects. She could feel the tears start again and she quickly looked down at her lap.

_God, he was too young. Way too young. This shouldn't have been something to happen to him. Amen._


	6. truth be told

The nights were longer and sleeping was a task, she became apathetic to almost everything around her. The only thing she even was solicitous to was Venus. They never really spoke about, Venus would gently bring it up to show that she felt uneasy about it. She wanted to tell her she was okay but it became hard to put into words, all Alex knew was that for now she'd just continue to sit with her confidant. 

Venus had laid her head on her lap, watching the TV tiredly and enjoying the how nice it felt as Alex stroked her hair. Alex thought of it like petting a really fluffy kitten. So they sat there at midnight on Venus's bed, watching old episodes of CatDog. Alex slowly laid back, gently grabbing Venus's arm and pulling her up so that she could lay by her. She took a good look at her facial features, noting her curly brown lashes, some light freckles that were splashed onto her cheeks and nose, her bright blue eyes that usually looked like they were shining. Her lips were a slightly dark pink, they looked soft....

 _Stop it Alex, you'll just hurt her._

As though on cue, Venus wrapped her arms around Alex and hid her face in her shirt. Alex did the same, instead kind of resting her chin on her head. It was still the same soft blonde hair she loved to stroke, it had a calming effect on her when she fiddled with it. If Venus had a problem with it, she never showed it or said anything about it. But Alex gladly would stop if she was of course. She closed her eyes, then heard the soft muffled voice of Venus. 

"Am I still going to Edwards Island with you?" She asked gently, looking up to her. She could just get lost in her eyes, but she forced herself to focus on the question.

"So long as you wanna go. It'll be fun, no drugs, promise."

"Is that a lie?"

"... Does Ren count? "

"Nope."

"Then no drugs. Cmon Venus, are you getting second thoughts?"

She sighed and shook her head, resting on her and closing her eyes. "No no, I was just checking." She responded. Alex nodded and rubbed her shoulder gently. 

"It's not about drugs anyways.... I've been..." After a minute, Alex noticed she cut off. She opened her eyes, meeting Venus's. She noticed her cheeks turned rosy pink and immediately caught on.

"..... What's wrong?"

"N-never mind, it's not important..." Venus mumbled quietly as she curled up, scooting slightly away from her. She wanted to tell her she knew what it was, but did she really? She started to have second thoughts and kept silent, wanting to admit how she felt too...

Only time would tell she guessed.

She didn't realize that this would be the last time she'd get any kind of sleep for a good while. 

Venus didn't have an alarm clock, so they woke up late. The blonde opened her eyes and blushed when she realized she had unconsciously cuddled up to Alex in her sleep. She slowly sat up, careful to not wake her friend. Groggily she stumbled up and to her bathroom to wash her face, not realizing Alex was starting to wake up at the sound of running water. The frigid water pushed her awake and she quickly wiped her face dry to keep the water from getting everywhere. Upon exiting the bathroom, she noticed Alex sitting in her bed with her back to her, dulled light illuminating her profile to signify she was on her phone. She noted that her hair tie looked tangled in locks and strands of teal hair, holding up a very messy ponytail. 

Alex quickly texted Clarissa, telling her she had no interest in her, no matter how much she had thought she wanted her. She sent the message and clutched her phone, turning around with a surprised expression on her face. She didn't expect Venus to already be done, but there she was. Her blonde hair was messy and her eyes tired. Sitting down by her, she gave her a meek smile and grabbed her own phone. "Did you sleep well?" She asked. Alex nodded and smiled back. "Actually, I think that's the best I've slept for ages." 

"Ages?"

"Ages."

Venus giggled softly, then shook her head as she checked her messages, mainly just all from Neptune and Jupiter:

 

_Venus: hey guys im sorry i cant do movie night. i promised alex she could stay over im really really sorry_

_Neptune: Venuuuuuuuuuus!!! How DARE you ditch us on movie!!! Night!!!_

_Jupiter: nep pls, let her hang with her girl_

_Neptune: you ARE DATING ALEX OMG THATS WHY YOURE DITCHING US_

_Jupiter: she's not???_

_Neptune: she IS!!_

And she that was how their chat had died down, last message sent at 9:50 pm. It was kind of funny, they new her so well to the point they did know she really cared and liked Alex. Not too surprising, they were all close anyways. When she closed her phone she noticed out of the corner of her eyes Alex looked strangely worried. She turned to her, putting her phone down and gently touching her shoulder.

Usually Alex would ignore it, kind of rolling her shoulder back to push her touch away as if to tell her she was fine. Today wasn't one of those days. 

She threw her arms around Venus, embracing her tightly and sighing. The other became flustered, but gradually wrapped her arms around her and let her calm for a moment. Something was wrong, she could feel it, she knew it, but _what?_ Was it....

She hoped it wasn't. Of everything, she truly hoped it wasn't.

Alex reluctantly pulled away, keeping her eyes to the white carpet she had dug her toes into. "I'm sorry, I just really needed a hug..."

"Oh no, I don't mind. I'll always be here for you, and I'll be here to give you hugs too." She replied sweetly, taking her hand and smiling. Alex couldn't help but feel a mix of emotion, slowly returning the smile. 

She had too many problems. Parents divorcing, mom remarrying, having to clean out Micheal's old room for her new stepbrother, and Clarissa continuously bugging her.

 _Just chose one thing Alex, no need to burden her with too many issues..._ "Um, so y'know my parents got divorced, me and my mom get to keep the house and luckily my dad wanted nothing to do with me." It's been so much better, being able to do what I need to do without him screaming at me..." She trailed off as she spoke, too focused on her other problems. 

"I'm glad about that, I was getting tired of him... I also hated seeing you with a new bruise almost every other time I saw you... Each time you'd say you were fine and you really weren't... Alex, you do know I can tell when you're lying right?" The blonde tilted her head innocently, looking at her with curiosity if she ever thought of that. 

The teal-haired girl sort of gave a small laugh, rubbing Venus's head. "Cmon, I'm fine. Really, if I wasn't I'd tell you." _But I don't want you to worry, you don't need that stress._

Alex wondered if she'd be angry at her (which would be a first) if she had told her about what happened with Clarissa. She knew she would be too.


	7. antics

"Fuck!"

"Ooooo someone's a bad girl." Neptune teased with a smirk. Venus rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She was sitting by Jonas, Alex's new stepbrother. He seemed nice, he didn't talk much to her either, instead he answered Ren's endless amount of questions. She looked at her hand, a small splinter jutted out of it. She pinched it and slowly pulled on it, wincing and trying to leave it.

Alex looked over when she heard her yell 'fuck' probably surprised that was even in Venus's vocabulary. She walked over and looked at the splinter. "I'm going to pull it out." She told her, quickly pulling it out and smiling to her. "See? Painless, like pulling a bandaid off." She smiled slightly, nodding and standing up. "Thanks."

"I hear wedding bells." Jupiter whispered with a snicker to Ren, who tried to contain his laughter. 

Jonas raised an eyebrow at the little remark, watching as Alex kept hold of Venus's hand and guided her to the railing of the boat with her. Venus leaned on her and watched the waves, putting her hands in her sweater pockets. "You feeling okay?" She asked the blonde, cautiously wrapping her arm around her.

"I'm fine. Kinda sleepy." She watched her for a moment, she looked to her and noticed she seemed like she was about to pass out. Worry filled her throat as she gently pat her cheek to slightly wake her up. "Whys that?"

"Mom and dad keep me up with their fighting, it's nothing big. I'll be out of the house in a few years anyways." She mumbled tiredly.

"Alex! You still with us?" Ren interrupted, snapping Alex out of her thoughts. She nodded and started to talk with them, walking away from Venus and leaving her to be hit by the cold air. The blonde shivered and trudged back to Neptune and Jupiter, who were taking selfies. Venus scooted up next to them, Neptune quickly snapping a picture of them all.

"So spill it Venus. Do you want to date Alex?"

Neptune's question was serious, differing from the times she'd joke and tease that she was in love, but now she was staring at Venus. Her dark eyes had no room for jokes.

"I... I thought about it before, but I don't wanna do something wrong, yknow?" Venus mumbled as she picked at her black shorts. 

"Gotta take some risks." Jupiter added while grabbing Neptune's hand. They both smiled, Jupiter's showed kindness and relaxation, while Neptune's had shown more "you gotta do it" kind of attitude. "Listen, if you won't, you'll never get a shot to tell her, and that's honestly not the best?" Jupiter was right, no doubt about that. Funny how she knew most of the time how to word her sentences carefully.

"Maybe... maybe I'll take a risk..." 

~~~~~

"Mind if I speak to Alex alone?" 

That was the first thing Jonas had directed to the group. Of course, Ren frowned at the suggestion and crossed his arms. "Well, I don't want to go alone with them-"

"What? Afraid I'll bite?" Neptune jested, leaning close to Ren and smirking evilly. "Because I will for what you said to me before we got on the boat-" 

"See? This one totally plans to murder me if I even blink!"

"No no, Ren go along with them please, I don't need an altercation right this second." Alex mumbled, turning to her new stepbrother and starting to make awkward conversation as the other four walked away.

Jupiter took this chance to run to a very shocked Venus, picking her up and putting her on her shoulders. 

"Woah!" She held onto her head and whined. "Hey! You know I don't like this!" 

"It makes you smile! So therefore, it's fun." She gave in, holding onto the shorter girls head as she carried her. They listened to a short history lesson from Ren, which was cut off by Neptune avidly questions everything.

"Just saying, they were hella fuckin' stupid back then."

"Not really, I mean-" Venus stopped as Alex and Jonas caught up to them, both seemed content and had a small smile on their faces. Alex tapped Venus's leg and smiled up to her. "Hey, come down. I wanna talk, if-"

She heard the sound of screeching metal and turned around to see Jonas attempting to push the dumpster. "Hey, uh, someone help please?" Alex nodded and ran over, glancing back to Venus to give her an apologetic look. She warmly smiled back, slipping down from Jupiter's shoulders. The two pushed the dumpster to the fence, then Jonas started to climb over the fence with Alex. Jupiter and Neptune followed after, then Ren managed to climb over. Venus cautiously climbed over, then walked immediately over to Alex. 

"Hey, what's wrong? You look.... ah what's the word.... melancholic?" 

"Melancholic?"

"When you look sad."

There wasn't really anything to be _sad_ but she still did feel 'melancholic'. As the group slowly moved on, she grabbed Alex's hand gently to keep her from continuing. "Wait, I-"

"Cmon you two! We're ready to drink!" Ren called to them, evident he was just ecstatic to go talk to Nona. Hesitantly Alex pulled her along with her, leading the group over and climbing down a small rock formation. 

"-And Brad's car- that's a story for later..." Venus's blue eyes met glaring brown ones that looked red in the sunset lighting. She realized she completely blanked out, walking into Alex by accident. Alex stumbled slightly, then turned to Venus. She wanted to ask if she really was okay, but then again maybe she was prying...

"Be careful there, I don't need you hurting yourself." She said as she held onto her hand.

"Wow, what a happy little couple of lovebirds." Clarissa said with biting sarcasm, starting to walk. Nona waved, then followed after. "We started a small campfire on the beach, but Nona wanted to play beach nanny-"

"Yeah. Hi." Alex said quickly as she stared down Clarissa.

"Hi." Nona replied softly, kicking a rock boredly.

"Um, thanks. We appreciate it." Venus said softly, smiling to the short girl with dark hair. She smiled back, then obediently followed her friend.

"And Jonas, that's-"

"Who are you?" Clarissa glared over at the newcomer. Venus frowned and looked to him, who seemed to become increasingly uncomfortable with the attention on him.

She hoped she wasn't going to start something.

"That's Jonas! Alex's new in town, fresh-as-a-daisy, stepbrother!" 

"Stepbrother?"

"Yeah he's a cool guy from cool North Valley, so let's try to show him a good time." Alex mumbled to Clarissa as she held onto Venus's hand.

"Does she even know the definition of 'good time'?" Neptune inquired with her famous eye-roll. 

"Yeah I think the beach and beer will be enough.." Jonas said, trying to ease out some tension. Things seemed to go downhill after that attempt.


	8. a cry for help

After some bickering they finally made it to the beach by the ocean water. Still holding onto her hand, she gently led her away from the others. "I really want to talk to you about something, it's really been on my mind..." Venus nodded as they walked up the steps that seemed to go on forever. They were able to see everyone else who had gathered around the campfire by the beach and the beautiful ocean that lapped at the sandy beach. 

They sat down together on a creaky step, silently watching the others talk to one another, Alex hoped they wouldn't all attack each other. Well, she had some thoughts of smacking Clarissa... She hadn't even had been around the tall red-haired girl for 10 minutes! 

"V, I've been... uh..."

"V? I don't think I've ever heard you call me that before." It could've been the light from the setting sun, but she could've swore Venus had began to blush when she heard the little nickname she gave her. She smiled and continued to hold Alex's hand. "S-sorry, I just noticed and I mean I love the nickname, just uh keep going, don't mind me..." 

"No, it's fine I don't mind. I let it slip... I mean is it okay? If I call you V?" 

"Only you." She replied simply, focusing on her. Venus felt like she knew what she was going to say, the way she continued to take her hand and pull her along, the sudden nickname, or maybe she was overthinking, maybe she shouldn't get her hopes up.

"Lately I've been thinking a lot. You've always been by my side when I needed someone the most, sorta like... I don't know how to explain, but you've cared for me. The only other people really that have ever done that was Michael, Ren, and my mom. But... My mom is busy, and Ren has a crush on Nona. It's uh, pretty obvious." She laughed softly, shaking her head. "And lately it looks like you're the only one who sticks by me, all the time might I add. That's not really the point, point is... I think I really really like yo-"

"Uh, kitten? Mind coming down and joining us? Be social and come play!"

_Kitten?_

_Oh._

Alex closed her eyes, frowning and pushing herself up. She looked to Venus, who was focused on something else as she quickly walked down. _Damn that redhead...._ She followed the other down, wanting to catch up and maybe explain, but she was already down the steps and seated by Neptune and Jupiter. She could feel a lump form in her throat as she noted Venus's shoulders slumping. It was hard for her to walk down and watch the others as they talked. 

Venus leaned against Neptune, not really sure what the hell just happened. She watched Alex, then looked away when she made eye contact. 

"Marry, screw, kill! Me, Clarissa, and Nona!"

"... you sure I can't just do Neptune, Jupiter, and Venus?"

"Uh you can..." 

"Great, I'll do two then.... First I'd... marry Nona. I like the quiet types."

Nona smiled and tilted her head with some confusion present. "I'm flattered, I think." 

"Okay, you're going down the line... who would you do the dirty with?" Ren 

She stopped for a moment, trying to think her choices. Her eyes darted to Clarissa. She glanced over and met her eyes, lips curling into a smirk. She broke the eye contact to look at Ren, who she knew she'd never sleep with in her life, then she looked over to Venus...

"Forfeit." Alex mumbled as she picked up a numbingly cold bottle. She walked over to Ren and leaned down. 

"Go ahead, sl-"

"W-wait!" Venus cut her off quickly, then when the attention was directed to her she felt her cheeks turn scarlet. "U-uh, you had another part of it, you can still answer that? Then you won't get slapped by default?" Clarissa glared over at the blonde, which Venus definitely knew she was doing without glancing at her. 

"Yeah, um... I'd marry Venus. She knows me well and she can fix radios, which is a plus because I absolutely love to listen to stations on end." She smiled to Venus, who coyly looked away. She could hear Jupiter's soft giggles and noticed Neptune trying to remain stoic.

She looked to Jupiter, who was casually sipping her beer and waiting for what Alex would say next. "I'd screw... Jupiter. She looks like she's good with her hands."

"Damn right she is." Neptune mumbled, causing Jupiter to choke on her beer.

"Neptune!" 

"I'm kidding!"

Jonas's eyes widened and he too tried to not laugh at their antics, keeping his eyes on the sand.

"Nice, Alex." He mumbled as she hummed and realized what her decisions had came down too. 

"Neptune you know I think you're awesome-"

"I know, I know. You'd kill me. I mean, I can still be hot in the afterlife."

"If it makes you feel better, I guess I'd kiss you to death." She proclaimed as she sat down. 

"My turn to ask questions." She said as she looked around, then turned to Jonas. "Jonas."

"Uh, yeah?"

And so began the more agonizing part of Truth or Slap. 

"Venus." Venus looked to Jonas, not even realizing that the question Alex asked Jonas had been said and answered. 

"Mmhm?"

"You seem like a goody-two-shoes. What's the worst thing you've done?" He inquired. 

It was honestly an innocent question, one she wasn't sure how to answer.

"I've done plenty of bad things. My worst?" _Becoming the Devil._ "... I uh broke my dads cup on purpose once." She stated falsely, shrugging. "I don't do too much bad."

"You're like the worst Ven. I don't know what you're talking about." Neptune joked as she laid back on her towel. Venus dryly laughed, then looked to Nona. "Uhh Nona."

"Yes?"

"Do you like the beach?" 

She meekly smiled and nodded. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Oh yes, yes you would." Clarissa interrupted, pulling out a cigarette. 

She shrugged, then looked over to Neptune. Not the best choice, but it was worth a shot. "Neptune right? Uh... why are your nails painted black?"

"To match my soul." Neptune put bluntly, sitting up and preparing to ask someone a question, hopefully to spice things up. "Yo, Alex."

"Yes?" 

"Who'd you last make out with?" She said, unaware of who it actually was.

"Uh... no one." She answered, looking to Venus. The blonde didn't look back at her, instead she was busy playing with sand.

"Really now?" The voice was cold but curious. It was evident who said that. She crossed her arms and looked to Clarissa, who had leaned forward, expecting an honest answer from Alex.

"...."

"You're lying. I don't think you recall that party? The one where we made out?"

"I... I wasn't sure if I could tell... Um..." She got up slowly, walking to Clarissa and letting her slap her. She brought her hand back, slapping her cheek and leaving a stinging mark.

Everything went silent. Alex could practically feel Venus's eyes on her. Venus bit her lip, tears pricking her eyes. Neptune cleared her throat and pulled her and Jupiter up, pulling her up the steps to get some time to help her calm down.

Alex saw this, feeling quite pissed and disappointed. She glared at Clarissa, taking her seat and continuing, asking Clarissa a question.

~~~~

Venus looked out at the sky, watching it melt into a darkened sky. She counted the twinkling stars and wiped her tears away. She couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed, but at this point tried to understand what Alex might've meant. Maybe she liked her, but was telling her the truth? Maybe she lied? But she wouldn't lie to her about this, anything else maybe, but not this. 

"Venus? Are you good now?" Jupiter scooted down a step next to her and leaned on her shoulder. Her body blocked the cold air from the ocean, which Venus appreciated.

"I guess... I don't know..."

"What did mermaid hair talk to you about?" She looked behind herself to see Neptune looking down at her from a few steps up. She looked genuinely concerned, like if Venus said one thing about Alex she would wreck Alex's life -- Which Venus did not want.

Venus played with the drawstring of her sweater and sighed. "Uh well, she said some things and told me she liked me, she said she like liked me... Then Clarissa called her kitten-"

"-As I heard-"

"-And I decided to just go sit with you guys cause I didn't want to really talk to her after that."

Both of her friends looked frustrated, Neptune hadn't touched her phone at all, instead listened closely to her. She walked down the steps and sat on the other side of Venus, hugging her. Accepting the hug, she watched as Alex seemed to storm off, Jonas and Ren following her. 

Then again, as she watched Alex she couldn't help but want to rush to her and hug her, to help her calm down....

Neptune had started to stroke her hair, which felt very calming as she slowly laid back into her lap. She closed her eyes.

Something didn't feel right. Her stomach flipped and she felt the ground against her body, instead of Neptune's lap, nothing was leaning on her, like Jupiter was leaning on her.

Something was off.

"Neptune? Jupiter?" She sat up and opened her eyes, looking around frantically, but they were nowhere to be found. She bit her lip and stood up, staring at the trees that surrounded her. She didn't want to be alone. 

She wrapped her arms around herself as if to hug herself to bring comfort and serenity, slowing her walk to glance about. There was something about the silence that was horrifying. Something broke it. 

Twigs snapped and the sound of footsteps resonated. Venus looked around quickly to see... Alex? She rushed over to the girl, but something kept her from going closer...

"V! Are you okay?" As she inched closer, Venus felt herself becoming increasingly uncomfortable, backing up slightly. "I-I think so..."

Alex, or what she thought was Alex, gave her a relieved smile as she gently touched her shoulder. "I'm glad. Listen, we're finally alone and now we can talk..."

Venus didn't answer.

"But, I don't think I want to be with you. Ever."

"O-oh um-"

She hushed her, pressing one finger against her lips. "I don't really care about what you want to say right now," In her eyes there was a ruby glint within the bright brown. 

"I know what happened in the cabin. Everyone knew. I took pity on you, I mean, who cares for the devil? Who wants it safe? I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't have another outburst at the camp." Venus pulled away from her quickly, tears in her eyes, but there'd be no way she'd shed a tear and give in to her.

"B-but-"

"You're _horrible._ I tried so hard, I wanted you to believe I cared, and you fell for it! How can someone so malicious like you believe a good girl like me would care." 

She could feel her whole body tremble as tears seeped out of her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, looking away from Alex. "I was there f-for you... why are you doing t-this to me?" She sobbed out as Alex walked closer.

_"Because you're not good Venus! You'll never be."_

She felt like her body was torn from the ground, she heard the sound of a tape rewinding, and _snap._

A sense of deja-vu crashed over her like a wave as she sat up and opened her eyes. 

Alex was nowhere to be found. She felt kind of at ease knowing that, she didn't want to hear any more of that anyways...

She stood, feeling vertigo strongly in her head. Slowly she brought herself to sit to aid the dizziness, shutting her eyes tightly.

Today absolutely fucking sucked.


	9. just trust me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my best but improv rehearsals took everything out of me today so I just tried to finish this chapter up.

Alex fiddled with her radio, changing from station to station with just a turn of the dial. Jonas followed close behind, examining the forest around them. They came to a sudden, awkward silence as they continued on. He cleared his throat and adjusted his beanie to start clearing the silence. 

"So uh, don't we have to look for the three girls too? The ones who are always together mostly?"

"Oh, Neptune, Jupiter, and Venus?" Alex turned to him as he nodded. "Yup."

"Yeah, I'd like to find them quick, I don't want...." She paused for a moment, turning the radio off and stuffing it in her pocket. "I want them to all be okay, especially after.... Especially after the Clarissa situation..." A faded cracking sound still went through her mind making the need to puke likely. 

"Well, tell me about them? They didn't seem too talkative during Truth or Slap." He suggested as she looked to him.  
Alright well, truthfully I only know Venus the most out of the three. Honestly, sometimes I think I may know her a little better than the other two, but what do I know. Venus is the one with short blonde hair, I held her hand a few times if you remember."

"Oh yeah, I thought you two were dating?"

"No, uh... I'm close to her. She's my best friend, y'know? But to be honest, I would be happy if she returned my feelings too. Uh, now I think I got myself in deep shit with the other Clarissa situation-"

"What was that all about by the way?" She shook her head and looked at the starry sky. "I... I might've maybe let Clarissa kiss me, but it was only for a moment. I don't have any feelings towards her."

"Only for Venus?"

"Mmhm. I met her at a Christian Summer Camp. She's actually pretty open about this, but she's trans. Her parents weren't exactly in favor of it, but had to get over it once she came to terms with herself. My father was... we'll say a douchebag. I can't think of a better insult. He abused me and my brother. He didn't hurt Michael much, but when he did it was cause he got fed up with us both and Michael was around to defend me. I held my own when I was alone, and there were many times I had to protect Ren or Venus. It was pretty horrifying. But he made my mom send me off to camp because he was pissed when the principal called and said "your daughter kissed Kathy Mills!" Ugh..." Alex rolled her eyes and stopped, looking at the faded path.

"I'm glad he and my mom got divorced. But I guess the camp wasn't too bad."

Jonas looked shocked, he crossed his arms and watched her carefully. "Really?"

"I mean, I met Venus and we'd sneak off because the bonfire captain didn't care what we did, both of us didn't cause too much trouble. We'd go and sit by the lake and we'd talk on and on... We had to go to this little chapel and we sat together in the pews, pretending to pray. Well, I would pretend anyways..." She seemed at peace, smiling fondly of the memories of a past summer, then she frowned and picked at her nails. "But I think the only really bad part was being forced to talk to a counselor about how it's a problem for you to be the way you are. I hated talking to them so much, they were so prying and they wanted to ensure you knew they hated you because of your "problems". That plus other kids who avidly bully you? It makes it not worth it, unless you're with the right person."

"And that right person was Venus."

"Yup. We've... We've come a long way." She finally said, smiling to herself. They continued onto their path, when Alex saw a familiar sight of short blonde hair and a pastel pink hoodie. She felt her heart flutter with relief upon seeing her, an immediately started to jog over to her. "Venus!"

The cold wind whipped and nipped, dropping the temperatures around them. Slowly Venus turned around, her blue eyes downcast. Tilting her head up normally, tears rolled down her cheeks and she stared at her dearest friend fearfully, slightly fretting the idea of her ridiculing her again with her words.

"S-stay away... please..." Venus managed to mumble as Alex stopped in her tracks. Jonas stayed close by her, stepping out so Venus could clearly see them both. He noted that she seemed to back away a few steps and held onto Alex's arm to keep her from going forward. It felt like another Nona situation... 

It felt uncomfortably stuffy, the sickly sweet smell of incense riding in the wind and surrounding them. It was a smoke cloud that hung over them. Too familiar to the Summer Scouts Camp to Alex, too unfamiliar to Jonas. 

"Venus, what's wrong?" Alex asked softly, causing her to sob and shake her head. "L-leave me alone!" 

Jonas shook his head to Alex, then took a step forward. "Hey, Venus, what happened? Did you see something?" He made sure to keep a gentle tone and show that he wasn't going to jump out at her. She faced him slowly and nodded. "I saw and heard something..." She sniffled and wiped her cheeks while speaking. 

"Okay, well I think it's best if you come with us... We don't need you getting hurt, and we still have to find Ren, Neptune, Jupiter, and Clarissa. So, what do you think?"

".... okay..." She walked close to Jonas, arms crossed and didn't even give a glance over to Alex. Alex bit her lip, trying to look at her without making it obvious.

Nothing could really describe how she felt, it was like a mixture of a bunch of feelings. It was too painful for her to look at Alex, everything she said hurt similar to getting slapped. She put her hands in her pocket, touching her phone and a small radio she kept from camp. 

The three continued on to find Ren, when suddenly Venus stopped and looked around. Her eyes followed small glowing lights that floated in the air shinning like glittery diamonds. For a moment she was awed by the tiny apparitions, but quickly drew herself back upon memories that started to show themselves again. She clutched the radio in her pocket and quickly caught up with Jonas and Alex. 

"Alex? Can we... can we talk?"

She noticed the other subtly let out a relieved sigh and nodded quickly. "Of course. Um..."

Jonas had already started to walk ahead of them, knowing they needed their space and some time to work things out. "I'll just go look ahead a bit. I'll see if Ren is anywhere around."

Once he left Alex slowly walked to Venus, stopping just a few steps before her. They both awkwardly looked at each other before Venus steadily mustered up the courage to speak. "S-sorry I just.... I need to talk to you..."

"I understand." Alex nodded and sat down on the dirt, motioning for her to sit with her. Venus sat down near her, fiddling with the radio in her pocket, taking out some parts and putting them back in without looking. 

"Earlier what you said to me... I don't want to sound rude or anything but that was really fucked up..." Her voice was quiet and she still seemed to detest the idea of being rude to her.

"What?" Confusion showed on her face, she pursed her lips and watched as Venus looked to her to realize she didn't know anything about what she had just said.

"Y-you talked about not really caring about me? You made me cry... You..."

"I would never say that V, I do care for you." She scooted over to her, taking her hands and holding them tightly in hers. "I don't know what happened, but I would never have intentions to hurt you, of anything I'd let myself get hurt to keep you safe... I'd know, I have before..." Tears started in her brown eyes. They were pure brown, no red showing in them like before.

"Please, just trust me..."

Tears started again, she clutched her hands tightly, then wrapped her arms around Alex and let out a sob. She buried her face in her shoulder and sat on her lap, sobbing into her jacket. Alex embraced her and felt herself tremble. She held her close and pet her hair, reassuring it would be okay. 

"I-I do..." 

They slowly pulled away, Alex holding her cheek in her hand. She could feel the warmth of her cheek and saw them turn a soft pink. Alex leaned close to her, pressing her forehead against hers and closing her eyes. Hesitantly, Venus moved closer, gently pressing her lips against hers, surprised at how nice it felt. It was soft and gentle, the feeling of euphoria building up inside her. When they pulled away, Venus felt herself slowly sit back to catch a dizzying breath. Alex took in shallow quick breaths, fixing her bangs and sitting up. 

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that." She hummed happily, then gently elbowed her. "Better than Mills."

Venus laughed and leaned on her, shaking her head. "I bet not. I've never kissed anyone."

"Now you have!" 

"Mmhm!"

"You're actually really good at it, I think that's the best kiss I've ever had." She shyly admitted, trying to fix her ponytail coolly. Venus felt herself blush more, quickly shaking her head and standing, pulling Alex up gently with her. Alex slipped her hand in hers, holding onto her with a pleased look on her face. They started to walk back up the path, meeting back up with Jonas, who explained he couldn't find any trace of the blonde. He could see that both of the girls were flustered and Venus's fluffy blonde hair was slightly messed up, but instead didn't ask. 

Venus was glad she could talk to Alex, it felt like... Like somehow she had pulled her away from the Devil's tight grasp, even if only for a second. That, and she had gotten to kiss her, which she did not expect to happen. It felt strange, but loving, something Venus thought she'd never get again in her lifetime.

_It felt right?_

Both held onto each other's hand tightly, bracing themselves for whatever may be next, ready for the challenge as usual.

_It was right._


	10. reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short, I'm sorry. The next chapter might be a flashback thing.

Finding Ren wasn't the most ideal situation, in fact it was horrifying. His eyes glowed like rubies, and he didn't sound like himself, almost as if he was a radio and he was broadcasting multiple stations at once. After that, she could only remember Alex pulling a radio out and her own body hitting the floor, seeing black. She woke back up, after all the garbled speech and piercing red glare, they had finally pulled him away from whatever the hell was going on. Horrifying. 

"Ahhh!"

Just a second after Ren screamed, the three of them all screamed out of shock.

"Holy Mother of God you guys!" He yelped with wide eyes. Alex made a relieved sound while Jonas seemed to show some amount of worry in his gaze, scratching the back of his neck and not exactly knowing what to say, and Venus? She was used to it. Used to it, but still on edge from everything that seemed to happen without a single explanation. Who would even answer the questions they had? 

"God, Ren!" Jonas groaned, shaking his head and glancing over to Venus. Venus once again started to think about what was happening, why it was happening, and still, seeing Alex earlier bugged her. Sure, they just shared a moment, but she still wondered what the hell that was. A hallucination? She wasn't sure.

When the rest started to move again, she followed along with a tired posture. She just wished to be at home, maybe with Alex watching some horror movies and eating popcorn, cuddled up with her in a warm blanket on the couch. She just wanted.... normalcy.

There was only one good thing that came out of this trip so far, but she wanted to still be cautious of it.

As they walked into a place she was unfamiliar with she made her way over to Alex and took her hand. Alex smiled to her, holding onto her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Her smile was tired, eyes stressed, but the warmth of her hand was comforting. 

It was pretty evident that she was ready for all of this to be over with in a snap, to be home, safe. Safe? At home?

"Cold?"

"A little. Not too bad." Alex pulled her jacket off, taking out her radio and placing it on Venus's shoulders with a smile. Venus blushed and pulled it on, then took her hand again. "Thank you."

"No worries, I'm not too cold right now anyways. So-"

"Hey Alex, do you remember that one show?" Ren interrupted suddenly, turning to him. He realized that they were talking after his mistake and let out an awkward cough.

"Er, sorry, I didn't even know you were talking..."

"It's fine. Now, what show?" She mumbled curiously, discarding the conversation that she previously began. Venus sighed quietly and looked around, wondering where Neptune and Jupiter were. She couldn't help but feel worried about their whereabouts, they had never went to this island before unlike her and Alex. As she stared at a tree she fondly remembered a trip where Michael had done something pretty stupid, which was try to give food to a small ant. After that, the whole area had filled with ants and they decided to spend the rest of their trip camping out by the water, another bad, but fun idea!

As they walked through the street, she heard a familiar sudden pained yelp-Jupiter! Her eyes widened and she let go of Alex's hand quickly, surprising her. 

"Did you guys hear that?"

"Yeah, do you think-" Alex looked to her, suddenly feeling very worried. 

"It sounded like Jupiter, I'm pretty sure it was her..." 

"We'll go find her, what do you think we should do?

Venus shrugged and crossed her arms, starting to walk towards where she heard the wail at a slightly frantic pace. Alex followed quickly behind, Ren and Jonas starting to slightly bicker about her education behind her. 

Venus ran down the path and saw Jupiter laying on the ground, laying in the dirt. She had tearstained cheeks and looked more frustrated than pained. Neptune had sat down by her, arm wrapped around Jupiter protectively. Neptune looked up with her cold, blank eyes, which lighted up immediately upon seeing the others. "There you are! Jupiter just hurt her leg!" Venus knelt down and looked at her worriedly. "Can you move it?"

"Sort of? It just hurts..." Jupiter replied as she tried standing, testing her weight on it and holding onto Venus's arm tightly. Neptune stood and walked over to Alex, smoothing out her skirt.

"So mermaid hair? What the hell happened?" She asked with hostility appearing in her voice. 

"I'm not sure, I'm wondering the same thing honestly." Alex said calmly, ignoring Neptune's questioning that not even she could answer. "But hopefully we'll all be fine soon." 

"Yeah! I'd actually appreciate that greatly. Also, you probably just bruised a bone or something Jupiter. I wouldn't worry." Ren babbled as he walked to her and examined her ankle. 

She sighed and shook her head, leaning on Venus tiredly. "It still hurts..." Venus rubbed her back, still the worry was in her eyes and in the pit of her stomach. "Well, hopefully it's not serious." 

And with that, they were off again. Jupiter limped slightly as she walked but stayed close to Neptune, who snuck a glare at Alex. Venus stayed by Neptune, letting Jonas and Ren talk to her.

She could still feel the kiss on her lips, she wondered if she felt the same. She wondered how she'd tell Neptune and Jupiter, even worse...

Watching Jupiter slowly wrap her arms around Neptune's neck and listening to her continuously ask to be carried went on for a few minutes until she had picked her up. Venus smiled solemnly, happy that they were at least safe, and hoped that it would stay like that.


	11. old memories

_"Have you seen Venus today?"_

_"No. Why?"_

_Jupiter shrugged and climbed up the wooden ladder to the top bunk where Neptune sat. She leaned on her shoulder and watched as she texted one of her various friends. It felt like a normal day. Incense filled the air like usual and the cabin was a sticky hot. The same as usual. "I haven't seen her since when we all got up and had breakfast together, then she ran off. I dunno, I'm just... worried?"_

_"Venus is a big girl Jupiter. I think she can handle herself." Neptune put her phone down and wrapped her arm around Jupiter. Sure, she seemed like she didn't care much for Venus right now, but at the same time she was slightly antsy about where she could've gone. It had been that way since they stayed in the other cabin. "I know, but..."_

_They heard the door creak open and looked up, both surprised to see Venus smiling happily, and wearing a red jacket that they hadn't seen her wear before. Seeming to not notice the two, she happily hummed and sat on her bunk. It wasn't until she heard a creak from the ladder on the other bunk she looked up. Her cyan eyes met theirs and she gave a shy wave. "Hi."_

_"Where the hell have you been?" Neptune asked without any bite in her tone, making it just a simple question._

_"Out."_

_"No shit."_

_"I met this really cool girl! She lets me borrow her jacket a lot cause I get cold." Venus said enthusiastically as she thoughtfully stroked the sleeve, a smile on her lips. "Her name is Alex."_

_"Alex huh? New friend?"_

_"Yup." She smiled innocently, and both girls knew immediately it was a genuine smile that had finally returned after not seeing it for a couple of days. Her smile had dissipated for a short while after the whole cabin situation, and it became obviously worrying as both girls knew Venus was painfully hurt by them._

_It had upset them both deeply, knowing that she had felt out of the mix, and the fact she was. The fact she came out to them after that. The fact she distanced herself._

_At least she seemed happy for the time being._

_Sometimes they'd catch a glimpse of Alex, she had light brown hair (Neptune argued it looked slightly auburn) and she looked like she always was ready to do something new. She usually walked Venus back to their cabin, then ran off to her own cabin._

_They never did get to speak to her, so they just watched as Venus bonded with her over the last few days they had at the camp._

_After camp, the relief and excitement of going home had filled their cabin. They began to pack up their things and clean the floor for the last time. A peaceful silence lingered afterwards, they all had laid out on the floor and enjoyed the quiet._

_"This camp was uh... fun." Venus mumbled once the silence had become unbearably awkward. Jupiter nodded in agreement and sat up slowly. "I guess."_

_Neptune had started to fall into a nap, ignoring their conversation._

_".... are you mad at us?" Venus turned to Jupiter and shook her head. "No. Why would I be?"_

_"Well, we pushed you away..."_

_Venus smiled, her cyan eyes softening and body language becoming relaxed. "No, all friendships... all friendships experience ups and downs. I don't mind."_

_That was the last they openly spoke with one another about it._

_Venus got up and took her bags, setting them on her bed and walking to the door. "I think my parents are here." She mumbled as she glanced out the window. She was scared of how they'd react to coming out to them, again. This was how she ended up at the camp._

_Maybe it'd be fine. She watched as her father approached the cabin, knocking strongly on the door. She slowly walked over and opened it, giving him a simple greeting before getting her bags and pulling Jupiter into a hug._

_She didn't pull away surprisingly, instead she gently hugged back and pat her back. "See you at school."_

_Neptune roused from her sleep and wrapped her arm around Venus's shoulders. She affectionately messed up her hair, then regrettably let go. "See ya."_

_Her father pat her back, having her walk with him out of the cabin and out of the camp. Venus looked to her left, the lake was there glittering in the sunlight. She fondly held onto memories of spending nights by the lake, laughing with Alex about jokes they'd keep for themselves. She held her head high and turned to her father, hands on her hips._

_"Listen, that camp did nothing for me-"_

_"I know Venus. The counselors told me they heard of..."_

_She didn't listen to him after that, everything sounded staticky._


	12. what the hell was that?

Once they had made it back to the Comm Tower, things seemed to start falling apart. Jonas seemed to be hostile to Ren, knowing that he had consumed another pot brownie. Upon learning this, Neptune took Jonas's side in helping his argument. 

"That's horrifically a stupid idea!" 

"It helps me stay mellowed out!" 

"So unnecessary." Neptune grumbled bitterly while she climbed up the ladder. The tension between everyone just seemed to continuously grow on and on... it was worrying. Alex had given up partially in trying to aid the situation, picking and choosing what she'd listen to. She put her annoyance aside at the top on the tower, waving to Nona with a smile. "We're back."

"The radio isn't working." Nona said bluntly and started to walk back to the entrance of the tower. 

Neptune decided to stay out of the confrontation that was beginning, sitting with the railing against her back. Jupiter and Venus did the same, Jupiter leaning on Neptune. Venus watched as it unfolded, Nona standing outside by her. 

Jonas's voice was strong with anger, it reminded her vaguely of someone she used to know. She cautiously watched as Alex stepped into the yelling match, a small twinge of fear in her eyes, but none was shown in her voice. 

"Stop! Both of you!" She yelled back at both Ren and Jonas. Just by looking at her Ren realized the pain in her eyes, though she looked angry. He frowned and reached for her. 

"Alex-"

She smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me."

It got weirdly quiet. Maybe everyone else didn't really realize it, but Venus and Ren knew why she was put off by the yelling, the arguing. Alex slowly made her way over to Nona, Jupiter, and Neptune. "Hey, you guys want to go with me? For the plan? To uh... get the key?

Venus wasn't sure if she was including her in this small group, and came to realize she wasn't. 

"V, stay here please, make sure they don't kill each other?"

"... Gotcha." Venus stood, walking back into the tower slowly before turning. "Hey, do you want you jacket?"

"Sure, it's kind of cold..." Maybe she could take it back? She noticed Venus seemed slightly crestfallen. Not about the jacket.

Venus handed her her jacket back, then gently kissed her cheek. "Be careful please." She mumbled before going to tame the fiery argument inside. Alex watched her withe worry, slowly touching her own cheek. It was best to probably just continue on. She started to lead the small group down. 

Jonas took a cigarette out, going to the door to light it and smoke it. Ren tiredly looked at the comm radio, silently tracing his fingers on it. Venus moved her blonde hair out of her face and sat on a stool, unsure of what to do. She sighed softly and watched a small bug crawl across the floor. Once the tension had lessened the sharp sound of static rang in her ears. She quickly turned around, noting that Ren seemed shocked too as he looked at the radio. 

"I did not do that! Scouts honor!" He yelped, causing Jonas to roll his eyes. "Sure." Venus stood up, going to see if maybe she could turn it off. She tried what she knew about radios from being in the Summer Scouts, not caring as Jonas and Ren curiously watched her. 

"I... sorta know how to fix radios?" She mumbled as she frowned, trying to work a knob. "But Alex has always been really good at it." 

"Venus? I know we just met and all and you absolutely have a right to not say anything-"

"Ask away."

Jonas frowned and put his cigarette out, trying his best to gently word his question. "Is Alex... is she upset with us?"

Venus looked up from the radio, looking to Ren and Jonas. Ren seemed to want an answer too. She solemnly smiled and shook her head. To Jonas she vaguely reminded him of something his mother would say. "I can't exactly tell, but I know well she's upset. I assume she's probably overwhelmed - I know the feeling. I kinda get when she needs to take a moment? Sometimes at least..." She added the last part after moments without a reply. 

Silently, Ren frowned and sat on the stool that Venus had claimed earlier, picking at his nails. "I feel like you know her better than I do."

She was kind of shocked by what he claimed. It took her a moment to comprehend what came out of his mouth, then she shook her head. "You've known her way longer." It made her feel bad, like she was taking away someone's only friend. Leaving them out.

"Maybe you should reach out to her more?" Before she could've said anything, Jonas quickly covered for her, re-entering the conversation. 

"... I guess I could. It's just... You know her like the back of your hand, and she knows you like the back of her hand?"

"Ren I think they're dating." Jonas blurted out, getting Venus's face to flush. 

"....oh! So that's why you too seem like a little old couple fighting! That's adorable!" That made her face turn even redder. She quickly covered her cheeks and softly whined, shaking her head.

"I don't know what me and Alex are right now, we just...."

"You guys kissed."

"I mean yes! We did! But like, she hasn't asked if we were like a thing now? I'm so confused..." Jonas and Ren both burst out laughing, Jonas patting her back, and Ren trying to regain composure.

"Maybe someone, I don't know who," He fake coughed and looked to Ren before continuing "should ask her what she thinks." 

"Gotcha!" Ren said, still giggling as though he was a young kid. Venus rubbed her arm and shrugged. "Whenever you get the chance that is."

A voice frightened them out of the conversation. They all forgot about the radio for a moment. 

"You. Have. Mother's. Laugh." They heard, garbled and full of static. Horrifying noises came out of the radio, Venus grabbed Jonas's arm out of instinct and stepped back. The shorter boy freaked out, grabbing Jonas's arm and Venus's arm and pulled them with him outside, Jonas protesting and Venus following, entirely creeped out. 

"Hell no! I am not messing with those ghosts!" Ren yelled, starting to climb down. Jonas groaned and rolled his eyes. "What if it was a coincidence?" He yelled down to him.

"No way! Not going back!"

For a minute they watched him climb down, then Venus decided to follow. "I'm coming Ren!" 

"Do we really have to?"

"Well, he looks scared. I don't like being scared and alone so I'm going because of my morals." She simply stated as she begun to climb down, the high elevation making her head spin as she gripped the bars, hoping to not accidentally slip and fall. 

Once at the bottom, she stood right next to the ladder waiting for Jonas. If he was to fall, she'd at least try to catch him. Luckily, he made it down safely, joining the two as they started to walk away from the tower. 

"We can meet them at the Adler Estate."


	13. i hate you

_Michael, she's definitely the prettiest girl I've met! She could be a model!" Michael laughed at his sister's enthusiasm, fiddling with the radio she had brought home with her from camp. Both her and the radio smelt of burnt incense even through the strong scent of pine was all around them. Strangely, he popped what looked like a small crystal into place. "Hm. The prettiest?"_

_"The prettiest. She has blonde hair, and it looks like a halo - no she looks like an actual angel!" Alex balanced herself on a log, pulling a small Polaroid picture out of her pocket and gently placing it on her brother's lap. "Please don't ruin that one. It's the one good picture I took at camp." She could see him smile, amused by what she said. There was a girl in the picture - and sure enough Alex was right. The light blonde hair, the blue eyes, the way she was smiling, the girl did look like a real-life angel._

_"Her name is Venus, it was really cool getting to meet her y'know?"_

_"Well, I guess the name is quite fitting to her looks." He suggested, handing the photo carefully back to her. She lifted an eyebrow and smirked._

_"Is that so?"_

_"Remember the counterpart of the Roman goddess Venus?" He hummed softly, a smile on his face while he let her make the connections herself._

_Alex laughed and nodded. "Aphrodite!" She answered, pocketing the picture delicately. "The goddess of beauty and love."_

_The pine trees were the same as the ones at camp, aside from the fact these were welcoming and familiar. They offered seclusion and a place to rest away from the summer's heat. _Seclusion away from their father.__

_Michael ruffled her hair with a smile. "Exactly what I mean, maybe she was so beautiful as a baby her parents were like 'Venus. Perfect name.' That's what seems to make the most sense!"_

_She sighed wistfully and fell back off the log, falling back into the green grass - and the hard ground. Michael watched her with disbelief and poked her arm. "You good?" She seemed very euphoric._

_"I'm way better than good." She sweetly sighed again, causing him to roll his eyes and grab her wrist. He pulled her up and snickered softly as a joke formed in his head. "Guess you really fell for her!"_

_".... Oh my god, I'm disowning you as my brother." Alex groaned and stood, rubbing her back while the dull pain started to make it ache. He chuckled and pinched her cheek gently like a grandparent would. "So dramatic-"_

"-so very, very, very dramatic!" The sound of a caustic, feminine voice brought Alex back from thinking of an old memory. This wasn't the same as what had happened just earlier, when suddenly she was questioned about her jacket and heard, felt, static. There she was, in the daytime walking along the beach with her brother and Clarissa. Clarissa, who pried just a little too much in her personal relationships, and Michael oblivious to the advances. Still, she pushed him to stay with her when the question had arose.She ended up being able to interact with her brother in the past, which was horrifyingly morbid of the ghosts to do to her...

The voice came from none other than Neptune, who was shaking her head with furiously reddened cheeks as Nona and Jupiter laughed about something. "May I interject whatever the hell you are all talking about?"

"Be my damn guest." Neptune replied as she flipped her hair. Alex rolled her eyes and pulled out the newer radio. It was strange - strange in a different and daunting way. _Not as daunting as Neptune._

Neptune was like an older sister to Venus, their relationship was similar to how she acted to Michael, but maybe if he was more catty. And maybe if she had taken her brothers speeches way, way more seriously.

Neptune was basically _that_ girl in school that looks at you like you ruined everything when you barely even know her. Alex was very unsure how she came to even stay friends with Venus and Jupiter. 

But tonight Venus seemed more close to her, and through her resting bitch face, she could see her soften and talk to her sweetly - or at least as sweet as she could get. From knowledge of Venus, Neptune showed tough love most of the time towards her and Jupiter.

So in a way, she kinda was like Michael if he had Clarissa's rude personality.

Jupiter on the other hand seemed reserved to herself sometimes, but still managed to be charming in a friendly way. She heard that she was pretty good at sports, and maintained her grades, which were two things Alex could sort of relate to. But Jupiter seemed careful, careful of what she did, careful of what she made vocal. Alex saw her push her flannel out of the way to scratch her shoulder and noticed an angry purple bruise, one that she knew too well. She bit her lip and thumbed at the smooth surface of the radio.

"Well? What were you going to say?" Neptune asked bluntly, watching Alex carefully. "Nothing. It slipped my mind." She replied back calmly.

They continued to make their way back towards the Adler Estate, everyone letting the awkward silence settle in. Neptune pulled out her phone and noticed she still had no reception, and what she really wanted was to call someone so they could come rescue them. Everything that was going on was too fucking much.

Jupiter slowly walked closer to Alex as time went on, until she finally tapped her shoulder. Alex turned to her and smiled, relaxing at the fact it wasn't Neptune. "Oh, hey Jupiter. What's up?"

The other smiled politely and shrugged. "Just wanted to say hi, since we haven't really gotten to talk that much." She said as she pushed her own bangs out of her face habitually, crossing her arms and smiling sweetly. 

"So, are you and Venus a thing now?"

Alex felt embarrassment spark in her. Her cheeks looked like freshly bloomed roses while she stayed silent. Jupiter gave her a confused look, her emerald eyes squinted slightly. 

"Are you good?"

"Yeah... I... Kinda?" 

"Kinda?"

Her voice trailed off as she thought about the kiss, about Venus softly laughing and admitting she'd never kissed anyone, how she left her in the comm tower... 

_That... was a selfish move?_

"I mean I do really like her. We kissed, but we didn't say anything else about it? Well, we haven't had time to anyways..." The feeling of being nervous choked her, leaving a lump in her throat. It kept her from finishing her sentence.

"Ah. Got it?" Jupiter mumbled softly, pulling on a hair tie around her wrist. "Well, it's nice either way. I'm glad things are getting better." Alex heard the sound of snapping dully against skin. She winced.

"Getting... better?" 

Jupiter ripped her focus away from an red mark on the back of her wrist from the harsh snap. She had a confused look now, as though she didn't fully understand the question. "You did upset her earlier and..."

The rest was obvious. _She seemed upset when we left. And she completely had the right to be._

"Alex!" She looked up and saw Jonas. He stood near Ren with relaxed posture, while Ren seemed jittery and jumpy. Venus had sat down by where Jonas stood, leaned up against his leg and peacefully sleeping. Jonas rubbed his eyes and grabbed onto the collar of Ren's shirt, keeping him from pacing.

"This... is like taking care of children." He mumbled softly.

"Hey, why aren't you at the tower?" Nona said as they approached the three. Alex looked down at Venus, who slowly blinked awake, yawning quietly. Alex smiled, walking over and helping up the sleepy girl with the others watching. "...And you are so not the best baby sitter." She said casually, dusting off her sweater. Venus let out a small giggle, hiding her mouth behind her hand. 

"That's why I never get paid."

Jonas slightly smiled, then glanced over to Nona, motioning to Ren with his thumb. "This one got a little antsy." 

"Hey! Weird stuff was playing on the radio! That voice said I had a 'mother's laugh', I don't even know what that means!" Alex gave a weak laugh, shaking her head at Ren. "Okay then. Ah-"

Neptune grabbed Venus, gently pulling her from Alex. "Venus, can we talk?" She asked, glaring slightly at Alex and trying to show she didn't care much for her.

Venus hesitantly pulled away from Alex and nodded. "Of course, whats wrong?" She softly asked as she walked closer to Neptune. Neptune sighed and crossed her arms, looking at the others as if they were a burden. "Lets... Go somewhere where me, you, and Jupiter can speak. In private." Alex looked over to see Venus trying to contemplate whether or not to accept. Venus finally nodded, glancing back to Alex and smiling to her when she caught her eyes. 

"We'll be back." Neptune snapped to Alex, starting to walk away with Jupiter following tiredly. Venus turned and followed Neptune, unaware of all the drama that would begin for the others.


	14. a curious adventure

Cracking sounds came from the sticks as their feet treaded over them. The cracking sounded like frail bones being snapped repeatedly, it made them uneasy. Of course, the sound didn't bug them as much as the frigid breeze in the forest. 

"I'm cold."

"You're wearing a sweater!"

"I'm still cold!" 

The blonde trembled as she followed behind her two friends. Jupiter turned and smiled meekly, shrugging. "I think she's just teasing you."

Neptune interjected quickly, "No. I'm being honest." She defended as they sat by a lake. The chilly night wind battered their ruddy faces with familiarity, reminding them of times they had spent rubbing the grimy lake water on their face just to catch the breeze to cool off. The lake water would stick to their faces and they'd disdainfully scrub at it during their free time to cleanse themselves of the grime. Not their fondest memories of camp. 

But there wasn't exactly any memories of camp that they had held dear to. 

"Spill it."

"Um I'm sorry... Spill.. what?"

She knew what she wanted to hear. She knew the question, the dreaded question, so she quickly continued. "I really don't know Neptune... We just... Shared a few moments?"

Jupiter pulled her eyes away from the lake to look to her friend. Venus's body language screamed 'nervous'. She shifted where she sat and tried sitting straight. Neptune sighed, holding her forehead in her hand. It was her turn to say it.

"Venus, I think we're just... unsure? We want to make sure you won't get hurt." She knew they cared, even if it didn't seem like it sometimes. They would care, they just wouldn't want her to...

"I'll be fine. I'm fine.... Promise." She gave them a warm smile, patting Jupiter's shoulder gently, causing her to jerk at contact. 

"Ow..."

"Oh! Oh my god, I'm sorry..." Neptune turned to watch them, almost jumping when she saw Venus. Her cyan eyes seemed to glow like the crystals at camp when hit by the glares of the sun. Neptune blinked, noting her eyes were no longer glowing. It was one of the things that had changed about Venus after that night.

Jupiter gave a weak smile and pinched the hair tie that was snaked around her wrist. "It's okay, it's just sore." 

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Jupiter shook her head and crossed her arms, looking out at the water. "No, I'm good." It was nice sitting there, not caring for what was happening with the others since their minds were clouded with their own thoughts and questions.

"Anyways, was that why you guys brought me out here?"

Neptune shook her head vividly and sat up, shoulders back confidently. "Listen, we don't exactly feel like Alex is the best. She kinda sets us both off Venus. Not in an uncomfortable way, more of like a 'what the hell is she fucking doing now' kind of way." Venus nodded slowly and looked at the grass with sudden interest. 

"Oh. Well... She's actually super nice? I enjoy being with her and talking to her... Maybe you guys should get to know her a little better?" She offered. When she began to smile it seemed nervous, and it probably was since she knew that Neptune wasn't too open to it. By Neptune's expression, she figured she was right. Jupiter stood up and shrugged. "Well, let's just go back and see what the others are doing."

Venus frowned and pushed her bangs out of her face, curling her finger around a lock of her blonde hair. "I don't exactly see why you guys do care anyways. It's not like... It's not like I'm currently dating her."

Neptune glared, then but back spitefully from the answer she received. "We know. I'd just rather you not end up making some bad choices."

"Like you." Jupiter bit her lip when she heard Venus's insane answer. Neptune turned to face Venus, seeming to keep her cool even with the growing malevolence she gave off as she moved closer. "Damn right like me." Swiftly, she turned around and sauntered to Jupiter. 

Jupiter let out a sigh of relief and kept her eyes down, trying to ignore what they were saying. Venus started to walk back to where the others were, unknowingly leading her friends back with her. She really didn't want all this to be awkward, that wasn't her purpose. Then again, sometimes it was hard for her to understand her friends. They'd just get over it. Through the agonizing silence she could overhear Jupiter grumbling about how she knew she'd have blisters after tonight. Venus wanted to smile at a faint memory that had popped into her head when she said that.

Camp sucked, but at least it was where she met her friends. 

Once they made it close to the Adler Estate, she noticed Jonas and Alex conversing at the gates. Alex seemed shaken up, crossed arms and running her fingers through her turquoise bangs. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but as soon as they got closer Alex turned her head and looked relieved. She quickly walked to meet them and threw her arms around Venus, tightly embracing her. She was safe. She was here.

Venus hugged back, letting the sudden embrace linger for a few moments before letting go sadly. She could feel eyes staring at her, but couldn't bring herself to worry about it.

"Jesus, you wouldn't believe what happened..." Alex mumbled as she caressed Venus's cheek lightly, considering what would happen if she just leaned in close enough-

But she didn't act upon it. She instead pulled her hand away and reassured her. "But don't worry, everyone is fine, we're all just frazzled I guess. Some weird shit happened in the Estate, possessed Clarissa, we need to open the bomb shelter..." Neptune gave Alex a confused look, then walked over and put her hand on Venus's shoulder. "Hmm. Sounds pretty shifty." Neptune gently slid her hand from her shoulder to her arm, trying to coax Venus over to herself and Jupiter. To her surprise, Venus pulled away and quickly took Alex's hand. She gave Alex her signature kind smile she fell for and shook her head. "I'm coming with you."

Alex felt herself get flustered and slowly nodded. "Sounds like a plan. You could help us with the radios?"

"Of course, if you don't mind..." Venus added quickly.

Neptune sighed and pulled out her phone. Everyone knew she had no reception. "Well let's go fuck with the ghosts then." Giving a quick glance to Alex, she glared at her, then kept her eyes down to her phone, focused on something.


End file.
